Bugaboo
by FoxFireAngels
Summary: Chat Noir does not understand why Ladybug is okay with him calling her "My Lady" but insists on him not calling her "Bugaboo". One patrol night, she decides to explain it.


"Good evening, My Lady," he says as he drops down beside her at their regular meeting spot for their nightly patrols. She looks up at him from her perch on the ledge of the Eiffel Tower with a fond smile and a roll of her eyes, but she still takes his hand when he offers it to assist her in standing back up.

"And a good evening to you, too, Minou," she replies.

"The normal route on this beautiful night?" he asks as he rests his head on top of his folded up hands on the end on his baton. He then winks at her with a grin. "Of course, this night would be nowhere near as beautiful without a lovely lady like you by my side."

She laughs, the back of her hand daintily covering her pink lips, and his heart races at the wonderful sound. "You must have had a good day to be so charming this late at night," she replies as she unhooks her yo-yo from around her hips. "The normal route sounds just fine." She throws her yo-yo and it hooks before she turns back to him with a glint in her eyes and a smirk pulling at her lips. "If you can keep up this time."

He chuckles as she whips away towards a building with him taking a moment to watch her gracefully land before he takes off after her. As they fall into step beside each other, weaving and jumping over the gaps and chimneys on the building, he says, "Every day is a wonderful day when I get the opportunity to see your shining face, L.B."

She rolls her eyes but a grin forms on her lips."Are you going to compare me to the moon, O, Romeo?"

"The moon has nothing on you, My Lady," he scoffs as they simultaneously leap over a large gap before falling back into step.

"Am I the sun, then?" she asks.

"You are brighter and more important to me than even the sun, Bugaboo," he replies before pausing as she falters, almost tripping. "You okay?"

"Ye-yeah, just fine," she answers, but he notices an edge to her voice and the loss of her grin. His leather, faux-cat ears flatten on top of his head as he wonders what he said wrong.

"Did I say something wrong?" he finally asks after a few silent moments of running and leaping and soaring. She pauses as they land on top of a hotel, and he stumbles to a stop a few feet away. When he turns back to face her, she has her hands on her hips and a frown marring her face.

"Why do you call me that?"

He blinks before swallowing nervously. "…Call you what?" he asks hesitantly, feeling like a child about to be reprimanded.

"Bugaboo," she says, and he breathes out a sigh of relief. His grin reappears as he walks over to her.

"It's a pet name!" he says cheerfully. However, his smile falls once again when she merely raises an eyebrow, her frown pulling down harshly at her lips.

"Do you know what it means?" she asks.

His hands find his belt-cat tail, and he fidgets with it, as he looks around in the night as if he can somehow find the answer in the darkened city."It…it's a term…of endearment?"

She huffs, throwing up her hands, and he flinches back. "No! Do you really not know what bugaboo means?"

"...no," he admits softly as he looks down at their feet. Her feet move closer, and when her gloved hand touches his cheek, he looks up at her. Her face has softened, but he knows she is still upset about something.

"Bugaboo is an object of fear or alarm," she says softly.

"What?" he gasps as he jerks away, stumbling back a few steps. "I-I didn't-I swear! I didn't know!"

"It's okay," she soothes as she reaches out her hand towards him. "I just wanted to make sure you knew what it meant." He takes her hand and allows her to pull him closer.

"I didn't mean anything by it, My Lady. I am so sorry."

She smiles at him and says, "It's okay, Minou. Just try to not let too many people know how afraid of me you are." His mouth drops open at her sly comment, and she laughs as she pulls away. She walks over to the edge of the building and throws out her yo-yo, casting a grin over her shoulder back at him. "See you at the Tower when you manage to pick your jaw up." With a wink, she then soars away.

He watches her fly off before he shakes his head managing a grin. "See you soon, buginette."

**This idea came from when I was reading Lemony Snicket's **_**A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Grim Grotto **_**in which I rediscovered the word bugaboo.**


End file.
